1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to bumper systems for lessening and/or preventing damage due to impact between two or more objects.
2. Background Art
Boats and other marine vessels and structures are subject to damage when moored. Wind and waves have the tendency of moving a floating vessel with respect to its mooring, whether the mooring is stationary or floating. Relative movement of a vessel with respect to its mooring often causes the vessel to hit and/or slide against the mooring, possibly damaging the vessel and/or its mooring. Although the risk of damage to a moored vessel is increased when the mooring is in a fixed position, mooring to a floating structure or a second vessel may also result in damage due to relative movement, as the vessel and its mooring will likely not be in perfect synchronicity of movement.
As shown in FIG. 1A, in order to lessen the occurrence and magnitude of damage due to contact between a vessel and its mooring, most marine vessels include a relatively tough elastomeric rubrail 2, usually extending along the circumference of the vessel hull, typically at its widest point. The rubrail 2 extends outwardly from the hull 4 such that it will contact an object, such as a mooring, before such an object contacts and damages the hull 4. The rubrail 2 will typically have an energy-absorbing configuration, often including elastomeric materials, foam, and combinations thereof.
Moorings often include a similar configuration along their periphery (shown at 5 in FIG. 1C) and the pilings (7 in FIG. 1C) of fixed moorings are often padded along some vertical portion of their height to provide some modicum of protection. The materials used with such approaches are typically thin so that they do not greatly extend from the hull 4 and/or mooring and are often relatively tough due to a desire for durability, particularly on moorings. Protective devices on a mooring are usually placed at set locations predicted to make contact with particular configurations of vessels and may not be suitably located for other types of vessels. Furthermore, certain problematic interactions between vessel and mooring, such as the possibility of some portion of the vessel dropping below and then catching on the bottom edge of the mooring, are not sufficiently resolved by such approaches, and in some cases may be exacerbated. Vertical displacement of a vessel is quite common due to waves, rising and falling tides, and shifting or varying loads.
As shown in FIGS. 1B-1C, another approach to lessening the likelihood and extent of damage caused by relative movement of a vessel with respect to its mooring is to hang individual fenders 3 along the sides of the vessel. A fender 3 protects a vessel and/or its mooring by cushioning an impact between the two. Such fenders 3 will typically be suspended along the sides of a vessel and/or mooring by an operator. Because the fenders 3 are typically connected by one end and therefore able to move with relative freedom, a suboptimal alignment or positioning may result, lessening their ability to protect a moored vessel from impact with its mooring. Furthermore, placement of a fender 3 under particular conditions may result in a significant decrease in fender 3 effectiveness when those conditions change such as may occur due to wave or tidal action, or a shifting or varying load, as shown in FIG. 1D.
As shown in FIGS. 1E-1F, the configuration and deployment of traditional fenders 3 typically will render them relatively ineffective in protecting certain portions of a vessel, which may be damaged due to wave or tidal action lowering the vessel with respect to its mooring such that an edge of the vessel may orient under a portion of its mooring, resulting in damage as the vessel rises with respect to the mooring. Certain fenders have been configured to partly address this problem, by extending up the side of a vessel and along a portion of the top of the outer edge of the vessel. Such fenders are typically more bulky than standard fenders and still susceptible to displacement from a desired alignment, lessening their effectiveness.
Furthermore, traditional deployable fenders 3 require storage, typically within the relatively limited confines of the vessel. Such fenders 3 will also require that one or more operators manually deploy and secure each fender 3, based upon a prediction of possible interactions between vessel and mooring. This difficulty is compounded when the individual deploying the fenders 3 is also responsible for operating the vessel during docking maneuvers. Due to operator error, and the difficulty of estimating all possible interactions between vessel and mooring, the deployment of traditional fenders 3 may not result in an optimal protection of the vessel and/or mooring. In addition, such fenders 3 are prone to being lost overboard when being deployed or removed.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an efficient protective apparatus that is easily used and effective in protecting a vessel and/or mooring from damage due to relative movement and/or other interactions. It is further desirable to have such an apparatus that may be easily and/or remotely deployed and properly positioned.